


Silent Awakening

by Aurya



Series: A Breath of Wilderness [4]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Female Link, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-12 18:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12965232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aurya/pseuds/Aurya
Summary: Long live the beautiful land of Hylia.





	Silent Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna tackle the rest of Breath of Wilderness in pieces. LOTS of pieces. Like, almost every non-DLC Main Quest after The Isolated Plateau is going to get its own work, and some of the sidequests will be getting features as well. This is just gonna be a short one-shot, I'm not gonna go through the whole Plateau.
> 
> Also, in writing this, I am fresh off DLC Pack 2. If you have not played the Champions' Ballad, DO NOT read the end notes. There is a huge and awesome surprise waiting for you at the end of that pack. I don't want to ruin it for you, but I have a rant to get out. I'm going to deliberately leave a good few blank lines at the bottom of this chapter so you have ample warning.

It has been one hundred years since the Great Calamity.

That is how people refer to it - the catastrophic emergence of Calamity Ganon. Central Hyrule is no longer recognizable as the center of power for the royal family; the castle is crumbling, and the town before it, devastated. The ruin is worse still further out; Mabe Village and the ranch it neighbored are nothing more than a few buildings' corpses, to say nothing of the garrisons near Mount Daphnes and Lake Kolomo, or the outpost by the Forest of Time. Even across the rivers, Sanadin Park atop Safula Hill and Goponga Village upon the Lanayru Wetlands are shells, long abandoned to the sands of time; to the north, the Akkala Citadel, still crumbling, stands as a testament to the Calamity's mercilessness.

In Zora's Domain, a primordial rain pours down. The Zora, long-lived as they are, have had their memories misted by the ages. They do not forget their Champion - rather, her likeness is immortalized in crystal in the plaza - but after so many ages, her allies are not but foggy images, until such time as they are stirred by fresh view.

And in Divine Beast Vah Ruta, a Champion's spirit weeps.

In Rito Village, the skies are now an omnipresent threat. The Rito, priding themselves on their mastery of the air, can no longer fly any higher than the stone spire around which the village is built. Any who dare attempt - be they warriors or youths - are fired upon indiscriminately, and only few survive beyond the first shot.

And in Divine Beast Vah Medoh, a Champion's spirit struggles.

In Goron City, the air itself is a burning, tormenting heat. The Gorons, stout and defended, are uncomfortable walking their own territory, and many depart that desolate land for clearer skies. A once-prosperous mine to the north is long abandoned, and workers content themselves with tiring days far to the south.

And in Divine Beast Vah Rudania, a Champion's spirit endures.

In Gerudo Town, the emotion is tense. The Gerudo have seen a king born and deceased since the Calamity, powerless; and now his descendant, still but a child, finds the people looking to her. Leaving the city is a threatening trial, for sandstorms rage in the desert, in which lightning strikes from cloudless skies.

And in Divine Beast Vah Naboris, a Champion's spirit wars.

Across Hyrule, people know the stories of the hero who was to defeat Calamity Ganon. His own weapons turned against him, he fell to their blows in the defense of the princess. His sword, with the power to repel evil, is rumoured to be hidden deep in the wood to the north. Any who have tried to find it have been turned away by the forest itself, yet still there persist those who mean to take it up once again.

Unknowing that she waits for her master to return.

The stories have been warped by the ages... but there still remains one who know them in their purest form. An elderly figure upon the Great Plateau has lived alone for longer than any care to recall - for the only people who know he exists at all are those who have happened a skyward gaze as he walked the edge. Were anyone to scale those cliffs - a menacing feat to even the most enduring of climbers - they would discover his routine is rather ordinary, for this age and location; he slumbers in an old hut at the foot of Mount Hylia, hunts in the Forest of Spirits, entertains his time with experiments in cooking. But they would only know this in witnessing it firsthand; for he does not exercise this routine. He has no need of it. He has only prepared it as a caution - for he awaits another life upon that plateau, and does not wish for her to be overwhelmed when she wakes.

And one hundred years after the Great Calamity, she begins to stir.

* * *

_..._

A light before her. A shine above her.

_...our..._

A familiar sound in her mind. A voice - a woman's voice.

_...n your eye..._

She was certain she had not imagined it.

_...Open your eyes..._

The world swam around her, and she hear the flow of moving liquid.

_Open your eyes._

Azure. The world around her seemed to be steeped in azure.

_Wake up, Link._

She was lying upon a solid surface. A bed? No, that name for it did not sit right in her mind... yet she could not think of another term appropriate. It was stone, arced to hold a Hylian body, with a ridge around it to prevent anything it contained from leaving through lateral movement alone.

Slowly she rose to a sitting position, finding a blue liquid dripping slightly from her body. Her hair, long enough to dance upon her shoulders, made to obscure her face, and she gradually raised her hands to push it aside; then she grasped the ridge of the bed, and slowly pulled her skyclad form over. Her feet touched upon stone surface; her hands left the ridge and hung at her sides as she glanced around.

Something was hanging above the bed, reaching down from the stone ceiling, and holding a blue light above. Nearby was a pedestal, with a slanted, circular surface; patterns upon that surface glowed with an orange light, in irregular rings to a certain point. As she approached it, the light turned blue, and the pedestal shifted; a layered section rose up, and then rotated. A rectangular portion of the surface seemed to rotate within itself, showing an emblem upon the opposite surface - an eye, with three triangles above it and a tear trailing below; most of the design was glowing in orange, the iris glowing with a pale blue. That portion then seemed to extend out of the pedestal, as though being offered to her.

The voice rose in her mind again.

_That is a Sheikah Slate. Take it. It will help guide you after your long slumber._

Wary, uncertain, she reached forward to grasp the item - the slate. It had a portion missing; not a fragment taken out, but rather a gap so that the remaining ridge formed a handle. She held it between both hands, turning it so that the blank side faced her... and then suddenly that side was not blank, but lit up with blue so pale as to be nearly white. It was only so lit for a moment before the same emblem on the opposite side manifested on the dark surface, oriented for the way she held it and surrounded by a segmented ring.

The pedestal seemed to reverse its motions; the inner portion retracting the part where it held the slate, then rotating before sinking into the pedestal again. A disturbance on the wall past it drew her attention; five segments of the wall, covered in patterns she could not make out in the current light, rose upward to enable an opening. Lowering the slate in one hand, grasped by the handle portion, she stepped through that opening; it was a wider room beyond, with a faintly-glowing ceiling that almost seemed to be made of crystal.

It provided more light than the overhang above the bed; yet still, she almost didn't see them before she ran into them. A pair of small stone chests rested shortly beyond the access, with metal handles and hinges connecting the lids to the bodies. Kneeling down, she grasped one handle and found the lid lighter than she anticipated - within lay a leather belt, and a fold of cloth. A pair of faded brown trousers - threadbare in spots, but soft - and beneath them, a pair of well-worn shoes. In the other chest was a tunic that had once been white, coming apart at the seams, with another leather belt upon it; this one was larger, as though to be worn around the torso from shoulder to opposite hip.

She set the slate down where she knew she would not tread on it, and started to garb herself. The trousers were short, leaving her ankles exposed, and the shoes offered no support whatsoever; the belt fit comfortably enough, and she found she could hook the slate upon it. The tunic was similarly ill-fitting, not even long enough to meet the waist of the trousers; the sleeves barely reached her elbows, leaving her forearms exposed... and now she noticed, where she had not before, marks upon her arms.

On her left, three hearts. On her right, a hollow ring.

Uncertain, she equipped the belt that had been with the tunic, wrapping it over her torso from her right shoulder to her left hip - it had a metal ring upon it, like it was meant to hold a weapon, that positioned itself nicely over her shoulder. A slight downhill slope took her to a great segmentation like the one that had barred the access she had come through; and next to it was a pedestal not segmented, but bearing the eye emblem upon it, the iris glowing faintly, with an orange ring around it.

That voice again.

_Hold the Sheikah Slate up to the pedestal. That will show you the way._

It had not led her wrong so far; she drew the slate from her belt and raised it towards the pedestal. It had yet to make contact when a blue ripple emerged from the iris of the eye, fading out in the air - and upon the center segment of the wall, the same emblem shone through the darkness. A voice rang out from the pedestal before her; a strange, monotone voice that rippled in her ear, not male nor truly female.

**Authenticating... Sheikah Slate confirmed.**

Two cross-segments pulled away, and the five portions rose skyward, letting a bright sunlight filter through; as she stepped out to meet it, she found the light much more intense than the blue she had been bathed in... and yet oddly warmer.

_Link._

She closed her eyes.

_You are the light - our light - that must shine upon Hyrule once again._

And when she opened them again, she could see clearly - a skyward stairway leading to clear skies.

_Now, go._

Slowly, she began to advance. The stairway seemed to have been damaged at some point, with a flattened section that cut off abruptly, but it was nothing she could not climb over with a slight effort; at the top of the stairs, it became apparent that the exit was in a wood of some sort, for two trees sat to either side.

As she emerged, she found she was mistaken.

She was on a cliff  **overlooking** such a wood... and that wood was on a plateau overlooking a much wider world. In the distance, she could see a volcano smoking ash into the air, and - somewhat nearer - a castle that looked as though it had once been majestic. Her gaze drifted across the panorama before her... and came to a halt when she saw someone looking towards her.

A hooded figure, with a great white beard, walking with a staff on which seemed to be hooked a lantern.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> =IN SCROLLING BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY SPOILERS WITNESSED=  
> =NO OFFENSE WILL BE TAKEN IF YOU DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS WORK BECAUSE OF THIS SPOILER=
> 
> As bizzarely awesome as it is, the Master Cycle just doesn't fit in Hyrule. As my test has proven, the dev team seems to have taken this into account, and not made the Master Cycle particularly exceptional.
> 
> My route, following map-marked path the entire way:  
> -Start from default horse spawn at Outskirt Stable  
> -Cross Manhala Bridge  
> -Ride through Sanadin Park  
> -Cross Jeddo Bridge  
> -Attack the Bokoblin harassing Chabi at the fork on West Hyrule Plains (Draco's trope snark: #ChronicHeroSyndrome)  
> -Pass through Breach of Demise  
> -Cross Carok Bridge  
> -Enter Hyrule Castle Town Ruins from west, and stop the clock when the name appears
> 
> Royal White Stallion's 3★ Speed: spur into gallop, canter only until spur returns; one forced stop on Jeddo Bridge because I ran into the fencing; steed-tackle the Bokoblin; launched into the title's appearance by a Guardian beam to the back.  
> -Final time, 5:02.20  
> Epona's 4★ Speed: spur into gallop, canter only until spur returns; two forced stops on Jeddo Bridge because I can't dodge those holes at that speed; steed-tackle the Bokoblin  
> -Final time, 4:15.44  
> Master Cycle Zero: full throttle, fuel gauge as first obtained; no forced stops; hit the Bokoblin on my left side with the Master Sword  
> -Final time, 4:08.52
> 
> (this is the part where I go into a ramble like the post-fight analysis of a Death Battle)
> 
> Taking a long route around Hyrule Field to cross Central Hyrule, the Master Cycle makes the trip in a mere minute less than the fastest in-game horse, and only seven seconds less than Epona if you have an amiibo for Twilight-Era Link. The speed difference is negligible for short distances, and getting the Master Cycle involves freeing all four Divine Beasts and hunting down twelve shrines, which means even doing a minimalist run before grabbing it will have plenty of teleport spots.  
> Further, travelling on the Master Cycle requires a button on the throttle, which makes it much harder to swing your melee weapon or aim your bow. There's also no ability to strafe, and if you get knocked off at speed or dismount for a jump attack, you have to go chase after it. Contrast with fighting on horseback, where your steed can maintain a canter without input, step sideways while targeting, and come back to you when you whistle.  
> And fueling is a pain in the ass! The only way I've been able to get the tank full from empty in one go is with five fairies; the next fastest is with ten pieces of flint. With a save file that has had all quests complete since before the Master Trials, and has been punked around with ever since, Draco has fifty-two pieces of flint and four fairies, which is only six refuels come an empty tank.  
> You can't ride the Master Cycle in the Gerudo Desert, or anywhere on Death Mountain where you need flame protection. You can ride it in the Gerudo Highlands, but that's about fifty percent climbing anyways. You can ride it on the Hebra Mountains, but with the Ancient Bridle you can also summon your horse right to the peak... and although I'll admit that trotting down Hebra on a horse is much more cumbersome than roaring down on the Master Cycle, sliding down on a shield surf is faster than both of them.  
> (Draco's trope snark: #AwesomeButImpractical)
> 
> While the pride in Link getting his own Divine Beast is not to be scoffed at, if you hate the idea of Link riding a motorbike, you should NOT feel pressured to leave your horses behind.

**Author's Note:**

> =IN SCROLLING BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY SPOILERS WITNESSED=  
> =NO OFFENSE WILL BE TAKEN IF YOU DO NOT COMMENT ON THIS WORK BECAUSE OF THIS SPOILER=
> 
> As bizzarely awesome as it is, the Master Cycle just doesn't fit in Hyrule. As my test has proven, the dev team seems to have taken this into account, and not made the Master Cycle particularly exceptional.
> 
> My route, following map-marked path the entire way:  
> -Start from default horse spawn at Outskirt Stable  
> -Cross Manhala Bridge  
> -Ride through Sanadin Park  
> -Cross Jeddo Bridge  
> -Attack the Bokoblin harassing Chabi at the fork on West Hyrule Plains (Draco's trope snark: #ChronicHeroSyndrome)  
> -Pass through Breach of Demise  
> -Cross Carok Bridge  
> -Enter Hyrule Castle Town Ruins from west, and stop the clock when the name appears
> 
> Royal White Stallion's 3★ Speed: spur into gallop, canter only until spur returns; one forced stop on Jeddo Bridge because I ran into the fencing; steed-tackle the Bokoblin; launched into the title's appearance by a Guardian beam to the back.  
> -Final time, 5:02.20  
> Epona's 4★ Speed: spur into gallop, canter only until spur returns; two forced stops on Jeddo Bridge because I can't dodge those holes at that speed; steed-tackle the Bokoblin  
> -Final time, 4:15.44  
> Master Cycle Zero: full throttle, fuel gauge as first obtained; no forced stops; hit the Bokoblin on my left side with the Master Sword  
> -Final time, 4:08.52
> 
> (this is the part where I go into a ramble like the post-fight analysis of a Death Battle)
> 
> Taking a long route around Hyrule Field to cross Central Hyrule, the Master Cycle makes the trip in a mere minute less than the fastest in-game horse, and only seven seconds less than Epona if you have an amiibo for Twilight-Era Link. The speed difference is negligible for short distances, and getting the Master Cycle involves freeing all four Divine Beasts and hunting down twelve shrines, which means even doing a minimalist run before grabbing it will have plenty of teleport spots.  
> Further, travelling on the Master Cycle requires a button on the throttle, which makes it much harder to swing your melee weapon or aim your bow. There's also no ability to strafe, and if you get knocked off at speed or dismount for a jump attack, you have to go chase after it. Contrast with fighting on horseback, where your steed can maintain a canter without input, step sideways while targeting, and come back to you when you whistle.  
> And fueling is a pain in the ass! The only way I've been able to get the tank full from empty in one go is with five fairies; the next fastest is with ten pieces of flint. With a save file that has had all quests complete since before the Master Trials, and has been punked around with ever since, Draco has fifty-two pieces of flint and four fairies, which is only six full refuels come an empty tank.  
> You can't ride the Master Cycle in the Gerudo Desert, or anywhere on Death Mountain where you need flame protection. You can ride it in the Gerudo Highlands, but that's about fifty percent climbing anyways. You can ride it on the Hebra Mountains, but with the Ancient Bridle you can also summon your horse right to the peak... and although I'll admit that trotting down Hebra on a horse is much more cumbersome than roaring down on the Master Cycle, sliding down on a shield surf is faster than both of them.  
> (Draco's trope snark: #AwesomeButImpractical)
> 
> While the pride in Link getting his own Divine Beast is not to be scoffed at, if you hate the idea of Link riding a motorbike, you should NOT feel pressured to leave your horses behind.


End file.
